Nebraska Lottery
Nebraska Lottery Tax Calculator
Nebraska’s top income tax rate is 4.55% for 2026 and falls to 3.99% in 2027, while the Nebraska Lottery withholds 3.5% from prizes above $5,000.
Verified · tax year 2026
Nebraska prize — results
Take-home
63.5% kept of $1,000,000
Annuity · 30 payments
Year 1 — → year 30 —
| Cash received | $1,000,000 |
|---|---|
| Federal income tax | −$320,000 |
| Tax to Nebraska | $0 |
| Nebraska tax | −$45,500 |
| Local income tax | $0 |
| You keep | $634,500 |
| Federal withholding (24%) | −$240,000 |
|---|---|
| State withholding | −$35,000 |
| Check you receive | $725,000 |
| Still owed when you file | $90,500 |
Data: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 · state agencies, verified · what this leaves out
Two cuts in two years
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 77-2715.03 lowers Nebraska’s fourth-bracket rate from 5.20% (2025) to 4.55% (2026) and to 3.99% from 2027, with the third bracket meeting it at the same rates. Nearly all of a large prize falls in those brackets, so this calculator applies 4.55% to the whole prize — $45,500 on $1,000,000 — and marks it as an upper bound, because the 2026 inflation-indexed thresholds for the 2.46% and 3.51% bands could not be retrieved from the Department of Revenue today.
The 3.5% withholding gap
The Nebraska Lottery’s claim page lists state withholding of 3.5% and federal withholding of 24% on prizes above $5,000, and W-2Gs for every wager with a prize of more than $600. At a 4.55% rate the state shortfall is about one percent of the prize. Iowans and Kansans who win in Nebraska are withheld the same 3.5%.
Nebraska at a glance
| State income tax on winnings | Top rate 4.55% |
|---|---|
| Rate table used | 2026 rate (indexed 2026 bracket thresholds not retrievable today) |
| Lottery | Nebraska Lottery |
| State withholding at claim | 3.5% over $5,000 |
| Scheduled change | Nebraska’s top two rates fall to 3.99% for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2027. |
What Nebraska winners should know
- In 2026 Nebraska’s third and fourth brackets share one 4.55% rate, so nearly all of a large prize is taxed at 4.55%; the 2.46% and 3.51% bands reach only the first part of income (a statutory base of $18,000 single / $36,000 joint, indexed since 2015).
- The Lottery withholds 3.5%, about one point less than the 4.55% top rate.
Nebraska sources
- Neb. Rev. Stat. § 77-2715.03 — Individual income tax rates — Nebraska Legislature
- Claim Prizes — Nebraska Lottery †
Agency: Nebraska Department of Revenue. † read through a browser session (why). How the math works.
Neighboring states
Colorado · Iowa · Kansas · Missouri · South Dakota · Wyoming